Pages

Friday, January 25, 2013

New Dinosaur Fossil Challenges Bird Evolution Theory

Reconstruction of Eosinopteryx. (Credit: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences)

Jan. 24, 2013 — The
discovery of a new bird-like dinosaur from the Jurassic period
challenges widely accepted theories on the origin of flight.

Co-authored by Dr Gareth Dyke, Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate
Palaeontology at the University of Southampton, the paper describes a
new feathered dinosaur about 30 cm in length which pre-dates bird-like
dinosaurs that birds were long thought to have evolved from.
Over many years, it has become accepted among palaeontologists that
birds evolved from a group of dinosaurs called theropods from the Early
Cretaceous period of Earth's history, around 120-130 million years ago.
Recent discoveries of feathered dinosaurs from the older Middle-Late
Jurassic period have reinforced this theory.
The new 'bird-dinosaur' Eosinopteryx described in Nature Communications this week provides additional evidence to this effect.
"This discovery sheds further doubt on the theory that the famous
fossil Archaeopteryx -- or "first bird" as it is sometimes referred to
-- was pivotal in the evolution of modern birds," says Dr Dyke, who is
based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

"Our findings suggest that the origin of flight was much more complex than previously thought."
The fossilised remains found in north-eastern China indicate that,
while feathered, this was a flightless dinosaur, because of its small
wingspan and a bone structure that would have restricted its ability to
flap its wings.

The dinosaur also had toes suited to walking along the ground and
fewer feathers on its tail and lower legs, which would have made it
easier to run.
Dr Gareth Dyke is also Programme Leader for a new one-year MRes in
Vertebrate Palaeontology, which offers potential students the chance to
study the evolution and anatomy of vertebrates, in order to inform and
increase our understanding of the workings of modern day creatures.